Tóth-Zele: I had touching moments with Amancio

"I was shocked to hear the news because I knew Amancio very well. Since he was already an excellent footballer at Deportivo; therefore, it is not surprising that he joined Real Madrid," József Tóth-Zele, who lives in the Spanish capital, told our newspaper. He was not only a contemporary player but later became a colleague and good friend of the Galician-born footballer. “He joined Real much later than Ferenc Puskás, and he was already a star. Amancio respected him immensely and considered him his idol. At the time, I was playing for archrival Atlético but as a Hungarian, I also received similar respect as Puskás."

As players, they were opponents, but Tóth-Zele said it was always a pleasure to meet Amancio on the pitch. "I have seen only a few players in my playing career that had such a great imagination. He was also technical, lightning fast, and could run around defenders when he needed to. But what really made him great in my eyes was his respectful attitude, even in the tensest situations," József Tóth-Zele told Nemzeti Sport, who transferred to Real Madrid during his coaching career. Here, while nurturing the youngsters, he found talents like Emilio Butragueno - as well as Míchel, Sanchís, Martín Vázquez and Pardeza - and after advancing the legendary striker and his teammates to Castilla, the Royal League's second team, Amancio promoted them to the first team. The collegial relationship later developed into a friendship as Ferenc Puskás remained the link between the two. His death may have made their relationship even closer.

"I knew Amancio very well later on because he was the manager of the Real Madrid master's team. But the most touching moments we shared were when I was able to sit at the table of a group of people who gathered on Puskás' death anniversaries. There, Amancio stood up and always said that a man like Puskás could only be spoken of as standing up. And as I said, he gave all Hungarian players the same respect he had for Puskás. Let me tell you a story about this: inviting the Real ‘old boys' - whom I took to Hungary many times - became a very expensive affair after a while. Maybe it was not an issue for Japan or Arabic countries, but it was difficult in Hungary. Nonetheless, Amancio stepped in and said, ‘I'll arrange it for Józsi because he's taking the boys to Puskás' country.' So, for a fraction of the usual cost, I was able to take the legends of the royal team to my country," added József Tóth-Zele, who also told our newspaper that he would of course be at the farewell ceremony of his former companion-in-arms.